At one time, the use of corporal punishment by parents in child-rearing
was considered normal, but in the second half of the nineteenth century
this begin to change, in Quebec as well as the rest of the Western
world. It was during this period that the extent of ill-treatment
inflicted on children—treatment once excused as good child-rearing
practice—was discovered.

This book analyzes both the advice provided to parents and the
different forms of child abuse within families. Cliche derives her
information from family magazines, reports and advice columns in newspapers,
people’s life stories, the records of the Montreal Juvenile
Court, and even comic strips. Two dates are given particular focus:
1920, with the trial of the parents of Aurore Gagnon, which sensitized
the public to the phenomenon of “child martyrs;” and 1940,
with the advent of the New Education movement, which was based on
psychology rather than strict discipline and religious doctrine.

There has always been child abuse. What has changed is society’s
sensitivity to it. That is why defenders of children’s rights
call for the repeal of Section 43 of the Canadian Criminal Code, which
authorizes “reasonable” corporal punishment. Abuse
or Punishment? considers not only the history of violence toward
children in Quebec but the history of public perception of this violence
and what it means for the rest of Canada.